“Christ wants not nibblers of the possible,
but grabbers of the impossible.”
— C.T. Studd
It’s been a while. The last time to take a team to Uganda was 2019 and then COVD put all other plans on hold. Now it’s time to make up for that lost time and get back to the business of bringing lives together – those lives that are in the shadows of the disregarded. It’s still those lives that would seem very distant from each other. Inmates and orphans. How do you blend those two and make any sense of it? Fortunately, God has much bigger plans than our short-sighted minds can conceive.
Most of the month of April (4-26) our team of seven will interact with the kids and staff at Otino Waa Children’s Village. We have spent the last 15 weeks preparing projects, rehearsing our parts, purchasing supplies, and praying for God to continue leading us.
You first must wrap your mind around the concepts we face. It can easily look like this;
“I am wired by nature to love the same toys that the world loves. I start to fit in. I started to love what others love. I started to call earth “home.” Before you know it, I am calling luxuries “needs” and using my money just the way unbelievers do. I begin to forget the war. I don’t think much about people perishing. Missions and unreached people drop out of my mind. I stop dreaming about the triumphs of grace. I sink into a secular mind-set that looks first to what man can do, not what God can do. It is a terrible sickness. And I thank God for those who have forced me again and again toward a wartime mind-set.” ― John Piper
We are blessed by the fact that God loves to change us, open doors, create those “God could only do” stories and provide the perfect teammate as a cheerleader. With that in place, here’s what we hope to accomplish;
1. Continue gathering video interviews to bring back. We started in prison with the sponsors and artists. Now it’s the kids turn to respond to those greetings.
2. Teach sign language to the Otino Waa choir to perform at church.
3. Basic first aid for the older students.
4. Teaching older boys about honor & integrity in their relationships.
5. Create a partner school (3rd grade) between a Bend school and
Otino Waa, with video tour and interactions.
6. Assist in the Otino Waa medical clinic.
7. Speak at a local radio station about how God brings orphans and inmates together.
8. Read stories to a primary school class, who might be short on English.
9. Train older kids to use video equipment. Also, leave some of that equipment for future use.
10. Present overview of Visions of Hope to all kids & staff.
11. House moms bible study.
12. Art for the Artists. Otino Waa kids create art to bring back to inmate artists.
13. Exploring current Christian music videos.
14. Educational survey of OTW schools.
15. Movie night (with popcorn!)
There is a great part that you can play to help us. Would you please pray for this team in multiple ways? We need you! The assignment would be;
Pray for God to circle the team with powerful protection. (Picture each one with a large truck inner tube being held up with colorful suspenders. That the enemy’s tactics just bounce off producing a smile from all who observe.)
Pray for each team member to have super sensitivity to the Lord. (Picture each one with at least one ear much larger than the other one.)
Pray for wisdom in meeting needs. We have extra funds to apply to those in need we encounter. (Picture actually saving a life – or two.)
Pray that the team will,…… get ready for this,….
be blessed with extreme discomfort,
feel anger,
shed tears,
and be blessed with foolishness.
Once you recover from the shock, please go HERE for the explanation.
As believers (and team members) we remain fully aware that God’s love is the very first influence in our lives as we follow His instructions. A great note from
1 Corinthians 13 to keep in our pockets might read:
Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.
The last portion of our trip we will transition to projects within Journey International. Their endeavors include church planting (Salvation Sheds), the plight in the far north of Uganda with the Nodding Syndrome victims and on the watch for God’s leading in the depths of poverty.
Thank you for your continuing interest in Visions of Hope. You are part of this team because of that. Our challenges are yours too. Our success is yours too. Our goals include reporting back to you ASAP.
“Let my heart be broken with the things that break God’s heart”
— Bob Pierce, World Vision founder